It’s time to park Newcastle Eagles’ bold European ambitions and get back to business in the Super League Basketball Championship.

That’s the unanimous message coming out of a united camp after the men in black made history earlier this week.

Marc Steutel’s men face fierce rivals Leicester in the East Midlands tonight  desperate to return to winning ways domestically.

And for playmaker Trey Pulliam there’s no shirking the importance of rediscovering some league form as a five-way battle for fourth place hots up.

“We need to get our SLB season back on track and fast,” said one of the architects of Tuesday’s thrilling European North Basketball League (ENBL) victory against reigning champions Bakken Bears.

“Hopefully we can use this week’s win to push us in the right direction and get back to what we do best in our league.

“Playing in Europe keeps us sharp. It’s actually harder playing in leagues where you play once a week and then you’re done for a few days.

“Playing in the ENBL is challenging and our schedule’s been tough but as a player it means you’re always thinking about getting better.

“If you love the game of basketball then you love to play. And that’s me. I love all of these games — honestly!”

Pulliam faces Riders for the first time since his January move to Tyneside, buoyed by the return of backcourt buddy Mike Okauru.

The league’s top scorer made a tentative comeback against Bakken as he eases his way back to full fitness following an ankle knock.

But with Pulliam and Christian James picking up the offensive slack in Okauru’s absence, Newcastle’s backcourt boasts some serious firepower heading into the final stages of a fascinating season.

Pulliam feels the Eagles have finally turned a corner after snapping a five-game losing streak and added: “It feels good — especially after the past two weeks when we’ve been struggling — finally getting out of that slump.

“To play in front of our fans with real energy on Tuesday felt great. To see smiles on everyone’s faces and to see everyone enjoying a big win is what it’s all about.”

For all the optimism around a big win against Bakken, coach Steutel echoed Pulliam’s call for a much improved SLB showing tonight.

“We’ve got to try and find more consistency,” he agreed. “But our domestic league is tough.

“I think we’ve shown that week in, week out and we know where we are as a club and as an organisation but we’ve got to try and get some wins domestically now.

“Reaching the Final Four of this season’s ENBL is amazing but that’s next month. We want to win a couple of games back home now.

“We need to try and bring some of the form we’ve shown against Bakken into the Super League.

“I said to the guys after the win against the Bears that we want to try and have this feeling a few more times — that sense of satisfaction we get when we really commit to a game plan and do everything we can to play Eagles basketball.”